Weft-inserting mechanism



J1me 1930- 'F. E. ASHTON WEFT INSERTING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 24. 192'? 4 Sheets-Sheet WITNESSES.-

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WEFT INSERTING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 24, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 WITNESSES: INVENTOR:

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June 10, 1930. F. E. ASHTON 1,762,377

WEFT INSERTING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 24, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 QM a Arrole rvEi' June-1D, 7930. F. E. ASHTON 1,762,377

WEFT INSERTING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 24, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I N V EN TOR ffmaasZTAs/z 5012,

A TTORNE Y Patented June 10, 1930 f GFFICE FRANCIS E. ASHTON, OF CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO ABERFOYLE MANU- FACTURING COMPANY, OF CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENN- SYLVANIA wnr'ransnamne ii/rEcHanIsi/r Application filed December 24, 1927.

This invention relates to a weft inserting mechanism and particularly to a mechanism which may be incorporated in a loom.

A mechanism of the character of this invention has been shown and described in an application for improvement in loom exeouted and filed by this applicant on even date herewith.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved weft inserting mechanism.

Another object is to provide a mechanism for inserting weft threads which will be positive in its action and which will eliminate the flying shuttles used in the conventional loom.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism for inserting weft threads which are supplied to the same from an outside source and which may be replenished without stopping the loom.

Another object is to provide a weft inserting mechanism which is capable of inserting a great number of different colored weft threads into a single pattern of cloth or the like.

The drawings illustrate an embodiment of the invention incorporated in a loom such as described in the co-pending application hereinbefore referred to, and the views therein are as follows Figure 1 is a front elevation of a loom with the improved mechanism incorporated thereemployed,

Figure 3 is a like view of the weft carrier,

Figure f is a side view of the needle,

Figure 5 isa like view of the weft carrier, Figure 6 is a front view of the needle,

Figure 7 is a side view showing the needle and weft carrier in engagement and showing the manner of transferring the weft thread from the carrier to the needle,

Figure 8 is a side view showing two car- 45 riers arranged one above the other,

Figure 9 is a longitudinal sectional view, with the center broken away, of the carrier and part of the mechanism for operating the same and is taken on the line 9-9 of Figure 1,

50 looking in the direction of the arrows,

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the needle Serial No. 242,341.

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the same taken on the line 10--10 of Figure 1, and

Figure 11 is a partial vertical section taken on the line A-A of Figure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

The loom comprises a frame 16, arches 17, dobby 18, pattern cylinder 19 for supporting the pattern chain 20, hand rail 21 and lay 22 carried by the pivoted swords 23, breast-beam 24, belt pulleys 25, and gear 26 operating the gear 27 on the main shaft 28 when the loom is set in motion by shifting the shipper handle 29.

These parts are the same as maybe found in the standard looms and operate in the same manner.

The main shaft is extended out at both sides from the loom frame and each extension is provided with a cam drum 31 which has a cam ridge 32 for operating a needle lever 33 and carrier lever 34 at the sides of the loom. These levers have their upper ends pivotally connected to the cross-heads 36 and 37 respectively through the medium of the links 38.

The cross-heads carry rods 39 and ll on the inner ends of which are a needle 42 and carrier i3 respectively. The mechanism and method of operating these rods has been described in detail in the co-pending application hereinbefore referred to. Suffice to sa however, that such mechanism operates the carrier and needle simultaneously so that they approach each other and meet at or near the center of the shed, at which point a weft thread is transferred from the carrier to the needle and, upon the retraction thereof, the

needle carries the weft thread through the shed and the carrier returns to its normal position for again receiving another weft thread.

The weft threads 44 are supplied from cones 46 which are mounted on a platform 47 at one side of the loom. These threads are fed througheyelets in thread guides 4:8, 4:9 and 50 secured between the arches 17 and from said last-named thread guide through the eyelets in the thread guide 51 secured to the loom frame. From this point each of the weft threads is carried by a separate .heddle 52 each of which is supported by a lingo strap 53 connected to jack wires 55, and said jack wires each pass over a separate pulley 54 which are operated by the jacks 56. After passing through the eyelets of the heddles 52, the weft threads pass through a wire guide 57 which confines the same and from this point they extend to the edge and form the selvage of one side of the cloth G into which they are woven.

Figure 11 illustrates the main shed of the machine which is formed by the warp threads 58 and 59 and the selected weft thread 61 -is raised by the heddle 52 carrying the same, and as the fingers 62 of the carrier (when said carrier is in its retracted or normal position) extend directly above the weft threads, they act as a stop or limiting means for the selected weft thread which is alternately raised by the respective heddles.

The needle has a body 63 and a threaded shank 64 for securing it in the end of the rod 39 and is provided withan overhanging shoulder 66 which has a hole extending longitudinally of thesame' and into which the stem 67 of a hook 68 extends and is removably secured therein by a set screw 69. The needle has a projecting lip 71 with a longi tudinal recess 72 into which the reverted end 73 of the hook extends leaving however sufficient space for a thread to pass through said recess and under the point of said reverted end.

The carrier 43 has a body 74 and a threaded shank 76 for securing the same in the end of the rod 41 and is provided with a slot 77 forming fingers 62 which act as limiting members for the selected weft thread as shown in Figure 9 and the lower faces of these fingers terminate in aligned grooves or slots 78.

The operation of the improved weft inserting mechanism can best be understood by a description of the operation of the entire loom. The warp sheds into which the weft threads are woven are provided by the operation of the heddles 79which are supported by the heddle straps 81 and which are in turn supported by the jack wires 82 passing over the pulleys 83 and connecting with their respective jacks 56'. These jacks are operated by the dobby 18 through the pattern chain 20. The loom is set in motion by operating the shipper lever 29 which moves the belt on the pulleys 25, thereby causing the rotation of the gear 26, gear 27 and main drive shaft 28. As the main drive shaft rotates, the cam followers, which are operatively connected with the levers 33 and 34, are operated by the cam ridge 32 so thatthe cross-heads 36 and 37 which carry the rods 39 and 41 having thereon the needle 42 and carrier 43 respectively are moved towards the center of the loom until they meet at or near the center of the warp shed.

Previous, however, to the movement of the needle and carrier, one of the weft threads 61 has been raised to a position such as shown in Figure 11 and its upward movement has been limited by the fingers 62 on the carrier,

so that upon its movement inwardly the thread will pass into the groove or slot 78 and will be carried into the warp shed as described. As the needle and carrier meet, the needle will pass into the slot 77 between the finger 62 on the carrier, and the thread, which is carried in the groove 78 and across and between the fingers, will be engaged by the reverted end 7 3 of the hook 68 which will guide the said thread downward into the recess 72 in the lip 71 of the needle and over the point of the hook.

When the cam ridges 32 operate to retract the needle and carrier, the weft thread will ride within the hook 68 and will be drawn through the, warp shed and to the other side from that which it entered. When the needle and carrier have been completely retracted to their original or normal position, the cam followers will ride along the dwells 87 on the cam ridges and during this period, the dobby will be operated by the pattern chain to change the warp shed through the medium of the jacks 56 and heddle 79, and the previously selected weft thread 61 will be lowered by the action of the spring 86 and another selected thread will bedrawn upward until it strikes against the fingers 62 on the carrier, whereupon the operation of inserting the said weft thread into the warp shed will be again repeated.

In practice the cam drums 31 may be arranged on the main shaft so that one is slightly in advance of the other which will cause the needle and-carrier to meet when one or the other is still advancing and the other starting to retard. This will prevent any excessive tension or strain on the weft thread during transfer from the carrier to the needle and the cam drums can be so arranged that the timing will be perfect.

The number. of colors of weft threads which may be used in this type of loom is far in advance of the number which may be used by a loom having shuttles and shuttle boxes, and in each case they will be normally positioned at a point beneath the fingers 62 of the carrier when it is in its retracted position so that when the selected thread has been raised, it will bear against the lower edges of said fingers, and when said carrier moves forward into the weft shed. the thread will slide into the groove or slot 7 8 and be carried as before described.

The loom is provided with a knife for severing the thread to release it from the needle; a stop motion mechanism 88 to stop the loom when the weft thread is wanting; and with a selvage weaving mechanism 89 for binding the edge having the severed weft threads. These devices are shown in detail and de lot scribed in the application hereinbefore mentioned so that it is thought unnecessary to repeat this description herein.

Tension on the weft threads 44 may be provided by means of packing theeyelets in the thread guides or by the use of a tension device, care being taken however to provide easy feed from the cone of the selected thread which is carried into the warp shed by the carrier and passed over the hook 68 of the needle.

Of course the weft inserting mechanism illustrated is susceptible of various modifications and changes without departing from the invention herein set forth and hereafter claimed.

I claim 1. A weft inserting needle comprising in combination a body, a hook, and a projecting lip providing fixed means for admitting a thread to the hook and preventing its removal therefrom. 2. A weft inserting needle comprising in combination a body, a hook, and a projecting lip, said lip having a recess into which the point of the hook permanently extends.

3. A Weft inserting needle comprising in combination a body, a hook having a reverting point, and a projecting lip, said lip having a recess into which the point of the hook permanently extends.

4:. Weft inserting means comprising a carrier and a needle, said carrier having fingers provided with grooves for carrying a weft thread, said needle having a hook and recessed lip, said needle adapted to pass between the fingers on the carrier and deflect said thread through the recess of the lip and onto said needle.

5. Weft inserting means comprising a carrier and a needle adapted to reciprocate to and from each other, said carrier having fingers provided with grooves for carrying a weft thread, said needle having a hook and a recessed lip, said needle adapted to pass between the fingers on the carrier and deflect said thread through the recess of the lip and onto said needle.

6. Weft inserting means comprising a carrier and a needle, said carrier having fingers provided with grooves for carrying a weft thread, said needle having a hook and a recessed lip, the point of said hook extending into said recess, said needle adapted to pass between the fingers of said carrier to deflect the thread over the point of the hook in said recess to disengage it from said carrier.

7 lVeft inserting means comprising a carrier and a needle adapted to reciprocate to and from each other, said carrier having fingers provided with grooves for carrying a weft thread, said needle in ving a hook and a recessed lip, the point of said hook extending into said recess, said needle adapted to pass between the fingers of said carrier to deflect the thread over the point of the hook in said recess to disengage it from said carrier.

8. Weft inserting means as described in claim 1 having means for timing the recipro- FRANCIS E. ASHTON. 

